Production Line

Feature Article from Hemmings Muscle Machines

ZL1 Convertible
Sure, 580hp... but with last month's Shelby news, so what?
Surprising exactly no one, Chevy has released information on its upcoming ZL1 convertible. Available in the summertime as a 2013 model, it packs the same 580 horsepower as the coupe. Pricing hasn't been announced yet, but with the coupe at $54,995, and the traditional pricing stretch from coupe to convertible to be in the $5,000 range, we'd wager that you'd get enough change from $60,000 for a Starbucks latte.
One wonders about Chevy's next move...with even the $100,000 ZR1 Corvette pumping out 638 horses, is there room left in the LS engine family or the Camaro for one last power-pumping retaliatory strike against Ford pre-redesign?
ATS & Science
Cadillac's all-new 270hp turbo four: 2.2 horsepower per cubic inch!
Cadillac's BMW 3-series-fighter, the ATS, is coming--with a pair of performance-oriented engines at launch.
The "high-feature" 3.6-liter V-6 has been available in the CTS for some time, but its 306+ hp should feel stronger still in the lighter, smaller ATS platform. But it's the new two-liter turbo that is getting everyone talking: At 270hp, or 135 horsepower per liter, it has one of the highest power-per-displacement ratings of any production car engine, ever. (Converted from metric, it's a little more than 2.2 horsepower per cubic inch.) This is a different 2.0-liter four than appears in the current Buick Regal GS; it's based on a new engine family that debuted, in 2.5-liter form, in the Chevy Malibu.
Among the ATS 2.0T engine's highlights: a direct-injection twin-cam, four-valve-per-cylinder engine with continuously variable valve timing; twin-scroll turbocharger with air-to-air intercooler; forged-steel crankshaft with modular balance shaft system; and a two-stage variable-displacement oil pump with jet-spray piston cooling. The 2.0T has a wide torque curve, delivering 90 percent of its peak 260-lbs.ft. of torque (353 Nm) from 1,500 RPM to 5,800 RPM; it generates 20 pounds of boost.
The ATS is due in the second half of 2012.
New Viper: Not a Dodge?
SRT becomes a new marque for improved worldwide outlook
So a new Viper is coming--and much will be made about it shortly, during the annual New York Auto Show in April, where the Viper is scheduled to be unveiled. The Conner Avenue assembly plant, shuttered since the last Viper rolled out in the summer of 2010, will start building the new Viper later this year. Also, the new Viper will not be branded with the Dodge name; instead, it will be an SRT (derived from the Street & Racing Technology group which developed it).
Part of it is because the SRT family of cars, which includes 300, Charger and Challenger, is being positioned as the company's high-performance brand. And part of it is because, where Dodge is known, it's a fairly inexpensive car--and the Viper doesn't mesh with what the world at large knows as a Dodge. (Could that mean that an SRT Viper will cost more, since that "low-end" Dodge name isn't keeping expectations down?) A new brand like SRT could also be sold worldwide along with the rest of Fiat's holdings, like Alfa Romeo and Maserati, filling in dealer stores with this lineup.

This article originally appeared in the March, 2012 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines.